Saturday, February 28, 2015

The goal is to increase blog followers and make friends. Basically how it works is you follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. So looking forward to making new blogging friends & following blogs!

your house is burned down and you have time to select three books you own to take with you. what three books?

So I kinda scheduled this for the wrong day and didn't realize it until it went up the next day. So, I'm just gonna keep it for today lol

This is a very hard question. I want to say some of my big name favorites like Harry Potter, but at the same time, I NEED more copies of those becausee my original ones are tore up from being read so often. But I also want to say some of my smaller favorites. So, I guess I'll go with:

1. My copy of Sentinel by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My copy is signed and Aiden is signed to me. I need the proof so when people say anything about him, I need them to know he's mine.

2. I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

I LOVED this story. And let me tell you, even the acknowledgments made me cry. If I had no other reason to save it, I'd save it to give it to someone else to enjoy.

3. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (my hardcover, my paperback, and my ARC)

In my hardcover I have Wolf signed for me, so basically no one can ever say that Wolf isn't mine. My paperback has my blog in with a heart and a thank you from Marissa Meyer next to it, and my ARC is just a collectible. I loved them all and I wouldn't want anything to ever happen to them. I love the rest of the series, but I think Scarlet will always be my favorite.

Love is all you need... or is it? Penny's about to find out in this wonderful debut. Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating. So she vows: no more. It's a personal choice. . .and, of course, soon everyone wants to know about it. And a few other girls are inspired. A movement is born: The Lonely Hearts Club (named after the band from Sgt. Pepper). Penny is suddenly known for her non-dating ways . . . which is too bad, because there's this certain boy she can't help but like. . . .

There were two things that made me want to read this book. One, I have heard so many things about Eulberg and I wanted to know more about her writing style. Two, I heard the sequel to this book was soooo good and I'm a sucker for contemps that don't get enough hype. So I decided to give it a try.

Penny has had her share of heartaches, but this one time, it was the last straw. She was really hurt by this one and she vowed she'd never let it happen again. So she makes a club where she begins as the only member. But suddenly, things take a drastic change and she ends up having more than she bargained for...

The writing style in this was so easy to follow, which made for a quick, easy read. To make it better, it was so funny. Penny was hilarious and her best friends were funny as well. It was truly a light and fluffy romance which I was in the mood for after reading something pretty heavy. I'm not much of a mood reader, but I enjoyed this so much more since it was not a part of my strict schedule. I was reading it I because I WANTED to.

I saw a lot of times this book was called a feminist group, and that their ideas were feminist ideas and it was a feminist group, and more. It may have been, but at the same time, I felt that it was a girl power, womance type of thing. The group was basically telling girls not to depend on what dudes or society wants them to do, but to do whatever it is they want to do. In this book we see girls turn into women, and women take control of their love life versus letting a dude control it. I loved seeing that because many times in real life that doesn't happen. Seeing women take control of their life made me like this story so much more.

Last but not least, for this book to be called The Lonely Hearts Club, the MC found the love of her life and I couldn't have been happier. Although I called it from the exact moment that he walked into the story, I was happy to see them get together. I knew they would be happy together once they were finally ready. And man, the swoonage once things started turning in their favor! I LOVED him so much for the karaoke night scene and it immediately made the list of one of my favorite swoony moments from YA.

If you're looking for a light, fluffy, romantic read, this one should be the one for you. It features all of these things plus more and ill leave you with a smile on your face after you've turned the final page.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

This bookish meme tells the blogosphere what we're waiting patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) for! It's hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine!

An unforgettable new series from acclaimed author Katie McGarry about taking risks, opening your heart and ending up in a place you never imagined possible. Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both. Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down. No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

Published by: Harlequim Teen

Expected Publication: May 26, 2015

Why I'm Waiting: Because it has Katie McGarry's name on it. THE. END. But really, all her contemps since Pushing the Limits I've loved, and she made a character like Isaiah.... I HAVE to meet all her book boys just in case they're anything like him. He's one of my all time favorites!

2. Cinder from Cinder by Marissa Meyer:She has to save so many people. From her friends, to her community, to her love, to herself. She has so much to do and it seems like she can never do it all. But in each book in the series, she always prevails.

5. Harper from Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins: Harper is one of those chicks that can whoop your butt and as soon as she's finished take her lip gloss out of her clutch and walk away. And her snarkiness is above awesome. She's super cool and I wish I could be her when I grew up lol

6. Alex from Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Of course I had to put this one in this list. She literally fights EVERYONE she comes in contact with and her stubbornness doesn't do anything but make it worse. Until, well they finally make it better.

9. Hermoine from the Harry Potter series: No she wasn't the main character, but at the same time, there was so much that had to be done on their adventures and only she could have done them. For example, the big thing in book two that's discovered at the end... Only she would have been able to figure that out.

10. Eleanor from Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell: She dealt with a lot of things in her home life. She was a smart girl that dealt with meanness everyday and still she went on with her life. I was proud that she could get through those things because I never would've been able to do what she had done!

Monday, February 23, 2015

Unleashed, the romantic, high-stakes sequel to New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's Uninvited, is perfect for fans of James Patterson's Confessions of a Murder Suspect.

Davy has spent the last few months trying to come to terms with the fact that she tested positive for the kill gene HTS (also known as Homicidal Tendency Syndrome). She swore she would not let it change her, and that her DNA did not define her . . . but then she killed a man. Now on the run, Davy must decide whether she'll be ruled by the kill gene or if she'll follow her heart and fight for her right to live free. But with her own potential for violence lying right beneath the surface, Davy doesn't even know if she can trust herself.

*MY THOUGHTS*

When I read Uninvited I was over the moon about the action and adventure in the book. It was what made me want to continue the series. I needed to see how things happened while they were on the run because the cliff hanger that the last one ended on was brutal.

"One thing about being stuck in an eight hundred square foot space is that there is nowhere to hide. Not from one another. Not from ghosts."
pg. 12 (ARC)

After escaping the HTS camp, Davy and friends are on the run from the government and their plan is still to go into Mexico. But of course, nothing EVER goes as planned. As one thing after another begins to happen, things begin to spiral out of control and Davy realizes that nothing is ever really planned.

"There are worse things than beasts waiting in the dark. Things like me."
pg. 29

Ok, I'm just going to be honest. I did not like this anywhere near as much as I liked the other one. And I say that because I was expecting to see more action and more adventure. Especially with the way they were on the run and trying to get away from the government. I thought this series ender would be filled with suspense and just awesome... But instead it read more like a love story.. And although the romance was ok, I was not impressed. I was mainly bored through out the story because I was waiting on something to happen. And when it did, it was too far and too few between long boring spaces. With what the book was about I wanted it to be more than just "meh." It was so different but this one made it like any other YA novel.

"No one asks. They do. They take. And no one apologizes."
pg. 100

The romance in it was just meh too. I won't say too much about it because it could turn into a spoiler. "He" was a really good dude and he was a protector and everything else good you could think of. But it seemed like everything was revolved around the romance and I just didn't care after awhile. Sometimes she wanted him and sometimes she didn't. I wanted more action, suspense, BLOOD SHED. Maybe I was looking too much into it, but I just didn't want this book so romanticized and melodramatic.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

This bookish meme tells the blogosphere what all we borrowed, bought, and received for review. It's hosted over at Tynga's Reviews.

Sorry for my absence the past two days. I've been battling a stomach virus and although I've been reading still, it's been too much to pull out my computer and draft a post. Thanks for hanging in there with me. Because I got sick, these are the only bookish things I got this week:

Wednesday 02/18/15:My stop for the blog tour of One of the Guys by Lisa Aldin. I had Toni stop by to tell about her life as the only girl in her friend group! And this week's Waiting on Wednesday is a thriller called The Last Good Day of the Year by Jessica Warman

Friday, February 20, 2015

The goal is to increase blog followers and make friends. Basically how it works is you follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. So looking forward to making new blogging friends & following blogs!

DO YOU like fantasy or realistic books?

My favorite genre is contemp (ones that feature the tougher issues) so I'm gonna go with realistic fiction. I haven't read much fantasy, but authors like Sarah J. Maas, J.K. Rowling, and Rick Riordan are all people that have made me want to pick up more books in the series and hope that they're all as good as theirs :)

What about you?!

Those that like fantasy more, give me some recs so I can read more of them!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

A spy organization recruits an unrefined, but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

When I went to see this with the boyfriend, we went just because it looked cool. We had been seeing the previews for awhile and were really inerested in seeing what these super nice dressed men could really have to fight and kill people about. Kingsman starts with a really weird opening scene from the past that features a college professor and a lot of snow. And then it goes on to another even in the past featuring another set of people. As the movie goes on, the audience is introduced to a troubled teen who in asks for help so he's not in really big trouble for the last time. Hr soon finds out that the person who helped him is into way more than he bargained for. In other words, I liked this more than I thought I would. The fighting and action drew me in and some of the quotes were actually quite profound. (My favorite was from the dude Harry Hart: The suit is the modern gentleman's armour. )It really quite surprised me. Normally I wouldn't do a movie review here (that's not based on a book), but I didn't find out until the end of the movie that this was based on a comic book! The comic book is called The Secret Service and after seeing the movie seems pretty good! The effects were good and the fight scenes were BAD. ASS. There is a church scene that had both me and the boyfriend jumping and "ohhhh-ing" in our seats. I have no idea how they managed all those effects without it looking too computerized, but it was so good! The only things I didn't like were really small. Like so small they were almost non-existent. I was really annoyed by the lisp that Samuel L. Jackson had. I think because I know he doesn't normally have one, so it just seemed out of place. Maybe the villain has one in the comic book, but I'd really like for it to disappear if they continue on with more from this comic book series lol I was also really unhappy with the predictability. Remember I never knew anything about the comic book, but still I was able to call every plot twist in the movie. I knew certain things would happen at least three minutes before they came to light on the screen. Although some things were off, there were also some things I really enjoyed. Even though we're not sure if they will do more from The Secret Service comic, I will still have the actaul comic to read!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

This bookish meme tells the blogosphere what we're waiting patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) for! It's hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine!

Ten years ago, seven-year-old Samantha and her next door neighbor Remy watched helplessly as Sam's little sister was kidnapped. Later, Remy and Sam identified the man and he was sent to prison.

Now, Sam's shattered family is returning to her childhood home in an effort to heal. As long-buried memories begin to surface, she and Remy wonder what they really saw. The more they re-examine the events of that fateful night, the more questions they have about what happened to Turtle . . . and they become more certain that Turtle's killer is still out there, hidden amongst the members of their tight-knit community. Master storyteller Jessica Warman keeps readers guessing in an arresting page-turner that questions whether the potential for evil lurks within us all.

Published by: Walker Children's

Expected Publication: May 12, 2015

Why I'm Waiting: DID YOU READ THE SYNOPSIS?! Um yes please! I have a bunch of her other books sitting on my TBR shelf that I have yet to get to, but I think I may make more of an effort for this one. It sounds super good. I need to find out how they realized they got the wrong person and if they tried to capture the real person by themselves and if the police believed them and...... well in short, I clearly want to know EVERYTHING.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

When I was little, I totally knew what it was like to be the only chick in a group of boys. Although I never thought much about it, everyone else did. Someone always had an opinion on me and why I was always hanging out with the guys and it made me sick.
I can finally say I've met someone just like me in Toni Valentine from One of the Guys! I brought her in today because I want everyone to know what it's like being us! So Toni, what is it like being the only girl in a group of all those guys?

"Hey. Toni Valentine here. You know what I love? HORROR MOVIES. Any kind, really, but in particular creature features. Yep. I like monsters. That’s because I saw one, in the flesh, when I was in fifth grade. The guys saw it too. Anyway. Let me tell you a bit about them, my guys: Loch. Cowboy. Ollie. They’re my best friends. And, yeah, they’re all dudes.

Sometimes my mom will ask me if I like being the only girl in my group of friends. I’m not sure how to answer that, I guess because I don’t really think of it that way. There’s never really been that gender line. Not one I ever saw, anyway. Loch. Cowboy. Ollie. They’re just my buds. We like movies and hunting for monsters and playing basketball in Loch’s driveway and video games. You don’t have to be a certain gender to enjoy any of that stuff. The guys have always accepted me as one of them.

Even when Loch starting dating, the first of us to take that plunge, I never felt uncomfortable as the sole female in the crew. The boys never asked me to leave the room when they would talk about girls they liked. They never gave me funny looks. They never made me feel like I shouldn’t be right there with them, making jokes, laughing, part of everything. Until I transferred to the Winston Academy for Girls senior year. Then things got weird.

But before all that, when it was just the four of us, I felt comfortable. It was those moments—when we were out on the lake, when we were watching movies in Loch’s basement—that I felt like the girl thing didn't matter. We were just us, you know? Four friends with a history. Sigh. I totally miss that.

So there you have it! Boys and girls can still be just friends. And it doesn't have to always be weird.

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we will post a new Top Ten list. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week's topic is:

Top Ten Book Related Problems I Have

1. Buying more than I read or have space for: This should be EVERYONE'S number one. I'm sure we ALL have this problem. I'm doing a list of all the physical copies I own and highlighting those that I've read in red (pun intended) and I'm up to 100 now and a lot less than half of them are red.... (Remember this does NOT include my Nook and Kindle books smh) And let's be honest, I live in a one bedroom apartment with another person. WE DON'T HAVE SPACE FOR ALL THESE UNREAD BOOKS!

2. I'm a cover whore: This has got to be one of the worst because seven out of ten times I either don't read it or I DNF it. (Ahem Wake by Amanda Hocking -__-)

3. People making convos with me when they see me reading: I hardly noticed you sat down next to me.... What makes you think I want to have a convo with you?

4. Reading & Snacking: I read and snack all the time... But my biggest problem is finding the right snack. I normally go for hot Cheetos puffs and I'm sure you understand how that can be a problem with physical copies

5. Figuring out what to read next: I clearly have so many books I need to read, but sometimes with all of those books, I just can't find one I want to read.

6. I talk to my books: Most people talk back to their movies. I on the other hand talk back to my books. i.e. "Don't go in there!" or "Ugh why would you do that?!" When I start doing that, the boyfriend just walks away

7. Amazon one click: This is a problem because I don't have the money to keep buying things, but I KEEP. DOING. IT.

8. Short attention span: I know so many people that can sit and read for hours on end. Me on the other hand cant read without something on my TV so I can read a couple pages, play on Twitter for HOURS, read, blog, and repeat.

9. Slow reader: I'm not an extremely slow reader, but add my medium speed with my short attention span and it takes me about 3 days to read a 300 something page book. I wish I was one of those people who could read three of those 300 something page books in one day!

10. Being social <<<< My Book: I hate having to go places and actually talk to people. In real life I'm really awkward and I don't really like talking. Even talking to the boyfriend is weird sometimes as he's the social butterfly. I always tend to make jokes that no one gets because they're in reference to a book or something. It's pretty embarrassing lol

Monday, February 16, 2015

Source: Netgalley (A huge thank you to both the publisher and Netgalley. This galley was provided to me in exchange for a just and honest review. I received no type of compensation for getting this galley.)

Tomboy to the core, Toni Valentine understands guys. She'll take horror movies, monster hunts and burping contests over manicures. So Toni is horrified when she's sent to the Winston Academy for Girls, where she has to wear a skirt and learn to be a lady while the guys move on without her. Then Toni meets Emma Elizabeth, a girl at school with boy troubles, and she volunteers one of her friends as a pretend date. Word spreads of Toni’s connections with boys, and she discovers that her new wealthy female classmates will pay big money for fake dates. Looking for a way to connect her old best friends with her new life at school, Toni and Emma start up Toni Valentine’s Rent-A-Gent Service. But the business meets a scandal when Toni falls for one of her friends--the same guy who happens to be the most sought-after date. With everything she's built on the line, Toni has to decide if she wants to save the business and her old life, or let go of being one of the guys for a chance at love.

*MY THOUGHTS*

I chose to read this based on the same reason as everyone else, I was a tomboy growing up (Even now it's hard to get me in a dress or skirt.) but went through that awkward stage where I was finding out about boys. I'm just happy that I didn't have to go through the things Toni did lol

Toni would much rather be made "snips, snails, and puppy dog tails" and she will remind everyone she's with all the time. From mooning people, to belching and laughing about it, she was definitely more comfortable around her friends. But then her family sends her to a different school; a school that makes her wear uncomfortable clothees and try to be something she's not. Well something she's not supposed to be. But then she joins a friend and they make up a dating service. Everything is fine. Well until Toni falls for one of the people she's supposed to be setting people up with....

When I found out about this one I was super excited. The last book like this I really loved so I was expecting this one to be the same way. But unfortunately it boiled down to execution. For example, I can understand that they started hanging out when they were little, but that opening scene of them still monster watching and they were about to be juniors? Ummmm. Yeah. It just made them seem not only young, bur still impressionable and crazy. I could see it going down hill for me from there.

Since I could relate to Toni, the story wasn't completely lost on me. I liked that she was one to be herself completely and didn't let anyone persuade her to act differently. She was herself throughout the entire story, but just came to be more refined as the story went on. The only thing I didn't like about it was everything seemed so forced. Like she seemed to be trying too hard to want to fit in. But then as she became more lady like, she was still forcing things.

As for the romance, it was funny to see her in that situation and the way she adapted. In the end I wasn't really that invested into finding out whether or not they were happy or if they would stay together. The romance was ok, but nothing I was absolutely swooning over.

This is something that I was expecting to really love based on the fact that I loved something along the same lines before. I guess I have learned my lesson, not everything is the done the exact same way.

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About Me

29 years young. College grad. Working as a Youth Services Specialist. Masters from ALA accredited Univ. of North Texas (Library Science with a Youth Services certificate!) so that I can spread the word of literature to the youth. Books are a vacation and can take you anywhere you want to go... So follow me as I let books "Take Me Away... On the Pages of their Story."

Currently Reading

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston

Currently Listening:

A Stranger in the House by Shari LaPena

To all publishers and authors:

I do accept books (only MG/YA/NA)to be reviewed from big/small publishers or from any authors. I do not accept E-books. Also, I try not to review any books too far in advance of the publication date. Anyway, don’t hesitate to email me at pnh002@gmail.com.